


We’ve Got A Fuzzbox And We’re Going To Use It

by iamisaac



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2016-12-31
Packaged: 2018-09-13 19:01:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9137269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamisaac/pseuds/iamisaac
Summary: Looking at Teddy's mum's records brings up some hidden emotions.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shiftylinguini](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shiftylinguini/gifts).



“What’re you doing?”

Teddy is so used to James appearing in his attic flat at all times of night and day that he doesn’t even jump when the voice comes from behind him. He is lying flat out on the floor, and he turns his head to look over his shoulder.

“Looking through records.”

“Oh, what, those old Muggle things that make music if you have some weird arse machine?” James asks, with interest.

Teddy makes sure that James can see him rolling his eyes. It would lose the point if James didn’t notice – secretly, Teddy thinks it’s quite a good description of records, but he’s damned if he’ll admit it to James. They don’t work like that. 

So he says, with heavy irony, “Yes, James – those ‘old Muggle things which make music through a weird arse machine’. Those.”

“Cool,” says James, ignoring Teddy’s sarcasm. 

He flings himself down next to Teddy, his body warm against Teddy’s side. Teddy hates how much he likes the feeling. James is straight – Teddy heard more than he cared to know about James’s sex life with Miriam when he was at Hogwarts. They broke up when they left: neither of them cared enough to stay together - “it was fun,” James had said, with a shrug, “but nothing more.” But still. Straight. And Teddy is not going to lose one of his closest friends – no, hell, why not admit it? His absolute closest friend – through making an unwanted pass at him.

“Where’d you get them, anyway?” 

“They were Mum’s.”

“Oh.” James is quiet. He nudges Teddy with his head in a little gesture of solidarity.

Teddy turns to smile at him.

“’S okay. I don’t remember her. It’s just funny looking through.”

“I’d say.” James is pawing through the records with interest. “What the hell is this - ‘We’ve Got A Fuzzbox And We’re Going To Use It’? What the buggering hell’s a fuzzbox when it’s at home?”

Auror training, Teddy thinks, has not been good for James’s language use. He used to be such a polite kid. Teddy finds it amusing.

“That? Oh, Jamie,” he says fondly, “you’ve only picked out my mum’s favourite band.”

“Huh?”

Teddy nods. “See?” He points at one of the figures on the front of the record. “You know Mum always had pink hair? She had a crush on this woman when she was younger. And yeah, don’t say it – both my parents were bisexual. I know, I know. Probably how they got together.”

James snorts with laughter. “Bisexual Anonymous?” He sobers up. “Anyway, it’s not like I can criticise.” He sneaks a look at Teddy, more tentative than Teddy’s used to. “Y’know, me being bi and all.”

Teddy jerks away from him in surprise, and stares. “Huh?”

James winces. “Yeah, that’s why I didn’t mention it. Didn’t want you backing off like that, thinking I might be about to make a move on you.”

Teddy gets a grip on himself, and feels awfully guilty, realising what it must have looked like to James – him jumping away when James comes out to him. If anyone had done that to him when he came out – well, they had, but no one he cared about like James cares about him… which begs the question, incidentally – how _does_ James care about him? Teddy squashes down the faint tendril of hope.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that,” he says sincerely, moving back over to James and ruffling a hand through his hair. (He doesn’t dare do more than that: it has a definite effect on his libido.) 

“Yeah, well,” James mutters, looking down at the record in his hand. “She’s pretty. I know why your mum was keen.”

“Jamie...” 

“So,” James continues, his voice artificially bright, “how come you morph yours turquoise and blue all the time? Anyone you fancy you’re not telling me about?”

Teddy blushes. Actually, it’s kind of an embarrassing secret. Something he’s never told anyone before. Mind you, no one’s ever thought to ask.

“No, ‘s not that. I...”

“What is it?” James’s voice has gentled. For someone so brash, he’s always good at picking up on other people’s emotions.

For answer, Teddy hauls himself off the floor and goes to the mantelpiece, picking up a photo. He slides down beside James again, and shows it to him. A pink haired witch, looking not unlike the one on the Fuzzbox album, waves up at them, before going back to admiring the little turquoise-headed baby in an older man’s arms with an expression of utter adoration on her face. The man is holding the baby, who is wriggling slightly, with the care of one holding the most precious object in the world.

“It’s the only picture I’ve got of me with them,” Teddy says quietly. “I kept my hair mostly turquoise through my childhood because I thought… well, if I saw them again – maybe I died, maybe they came back to life, somehow – they might be able to recognise me by the hair. I didn’t want them to see me, not know who I was.”

“Oh, Ted.” James’s hand rests on his arm, a little tentatively, as if he’s worried that Teddy will take it as a pass.

“It’s stupid.” But Teddy doesn’t shake off James’s arm. He likes it there, whatever the reason.

“No it’s not. It’s – nice. Sad, but nice.”

“Then, I just kind of got to like it. It began to feel like me,” Teddy adds.

“Yeah, you’ve always been a blue-haired weirdo,” James agrees, giving him the lopsided grin that Teddy has always loved.

Teddy laughs. Then, biting his lip, he goes for it. “What you were saying earlier. If you _were_ interested,” he says tentatively. “In me, I mean… I’d be flattered.”

“Flattered but not interested,” James says flatly.

Briefly Teddy wonders which of them is supposed to be the Gryffindor, and then reminds himself that he’s six years James’s elder. One of them is going to have to take a risk, and it looks like it’s going to be him. He drags James into a kiss, which after a surprised few seconds, James returns with interest.

“Flattered and most definitely interested,” Teddy says; and from the expression on James’s face, he’s not in any doubt any more that the feeling’s returned.


End file.
